This invention relates to interactive television program guides, and more particularly, to techniques for presenting advertising to users of such television program guides.
Cable, satellite, and broadcast television systems provide viewers with a large number of television channels. Viewers have traditionally consulted printed television program schedules to determine the programs being broadcast at a particular time. More recently, interactive electronic television program guides have been developed that allow television program information to be displayed on a viewer's television.
Interactive program guides are typically implemented on set-top boxes. Such program guides allow users to view television program listings in different display formats. For example, a user may instruct the program guide to display a grid of program listings organized in a channel-ordered or a time-ordered list. Users may also search and sort program listings by theme (e.g., movies, sports, etc.) or by title (i.e, alphabetically). A user may obtain additional information for a program by placing a highlight region on a desired program listing and pressing an “info” key. The user may purchase a pay program from the program guide or may set a reminder for a future program by placing the highlight region on a program listing and pressing an “OK” key. Some systems allow the user to select a program for recording by placing the highlight region on a program listing and pressing a “record” key.
Program guides with a browse or flip display are capable of generating an overlay containing program listings information for a single channel. Browse displays contain information on programs available on channels other than the channel to which the user is currently tuned. The user may browse through program listings for other channels and other times using cursor keys, without changing the current channel. Flip displays contain information for the current channel. When the flip display is activated, using the up or down channel keys causes the both the current channel to change and the flip display to be updated accordingly.
Although flip and browse displays are useful, it would be desirable if more information were available to the user of such displays. For example, it would be desirable if advertisements were available in flip and browse displays to provide the users of such displays with additional information.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an interactive television program guide system that provides advertising on flip and browse displays.
It is also an object of the invention to provide an interactive television program guide system with special effects for removing such flip and browse displays from the user's television screen.